


We Don't Believe What's on TV

by booqwu



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 10:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20445713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booqwu/pseuds/booqwu
Summary: When Changmin was younger, he could probably name every single drama his mother watched in the course of two months.





	We Don't Believe What's on TV

When Changmin was younger, he could probably name every single drama his mother watched in the course of two months. 

It wasn’t like he  _ wanted  _ to know. He would sit on the floor, playing with whatever toy he wanted that day, and his mother would sit, a cemetery statue. Her eyes were sculpted and her face was stone as she listened to the love confessions of the protagonists on the TV. Changmin also thought when he was younger that everyone’s life was like those dramas as well - that everyone got a happy ending after going through some pain and grief, and end up higher than they were before. 

He got a reality check when he asked his mother where her Gong Yoo was. 

Since then, Changmin took everything he knew about dramas and love and tossed it away into the deepest depths of his brain. Romance certainly didn’t help his mother’s life positively. He could still feel the ghost of mourning soul on his wrist, begging him to never leave her side. It gets particularly bad on stormy nights, when the thunder almost replicated her cries to the gods, asking for death. 

  
  
  


“I don’t want to go on a date,” Changmin said bluntly. 

The coffee shop he currently was in was a false sense of comfort, stress just underlying the smell of cinnamon and the warmth of the store’s heater. Chanhee was across from him, his aura probably adding to the underlying stress that was just about to burst. 

“Good thing this isn’t a want, but a need,” he said back, taking a sip of his coffee. Changmin always told people that they would feel Chanhee’s confidence in a room before he even enters it, his aura bright and electric. His confidence was unmatched, not because he had his head in the clouds, but rather because he was knocked down from that height plenty of times. If Changmin’s life was a drama, then Chanhee would be the best friend who gave the protagonist advice and, all in all, told them to get their shit together. 

“I don’t  _ need  _ a boyfriend. I’ve been fine on my own and I’ll be fine on my own,” Changmin stated, drumming his fingers against the table. Chanhee looked at Changmin like he had just grown two heads. 

“You talk about Ghana as if he’s your child. You throw  _ birthday parties  _ for him. Keep that up, and you’re going to  _ die _ on your own too,” Chanhee stated. Changmin pouted. 

“People call their dogs their children all the time. Younghoon does that too,” he argued, motioning his hand to a nonexistent Younghoon next to him. “I know, because we compete to see which dog is cuter. It’s Ghana, by the way.” 

Chanhee sighed. “Whatever. This is more so of me being worried about you than that.” At Changmin’s raised eyebrow, he continued. “Since you’ve entered school you’ve just shut yourself off from all of your friends. Younghoon, Kevin, Jacob, even me, and I’ve known you since you were in diapers.” Changmin shifted uncomfortably. Even if you put the thickest fog around Chanhee, he could still hit the bullseye with an arrow. 

“Coming from someone who has a partner, that kind of a relationship is a bit different than your relationship with us. I’ve told Kevin things no one else would ever know about me. He’s seen me in my most vulnerable points. It’s a relief to have someone to share those feelings with. God knows how exhausting it is keeping up the ‘Cunty Choi Chanhee’ all the time,” Chanhee said, grinning when he succeeded in making Changmin laugh. 

“Will you just try it? For me? If you don’t like him, which I highly doubt, then you don’t have to see him again. Promise.” Changmin thought for a moment, then sighed. He was always a sucker for his friends, and will continue to be until the day he dies. 

“Fine,” he stated, absolutely refusing to smile at Chanhee’s big beaming grin. “You owe me big time though if this doesn’t work out.”

  
  


His name was Lee Juyeon. Same age as him, Chanhee and Kevin (which is how Kevin knew him). He was student president for his grade in high school, played basketball, and danced on a professional level. Kevin described him as a bull in a china shop, if the bull was a St. Bernard and only knocked stuff down out of curiosity. According to Chanhee, he was incredibly handsome. This didn’t help Changmin any, as it made him nervous - he sounded like the complete package. 

If Changmin’s life was a drama, he’d be the perfect love interest. 

His life wasn’t a drama though, so Changmin refused to have any hopes as he waited in the bar Chanhee gave him directions too, swirling his water around. He did not want to be completely piss drunk on the first date, so sobriety was the way to go here. He placed his cheek in his hands and played Crossy Road to keep his hands from shaking. 

“Excuse me?” A soft, slightly low voice said. Changmin looked up to his right and saw an extremely beautiful man look hesitantly at him. “Are you Ji Changmin? I’m Lee Juyeon. We were supposed to meet here, right?”

Changmin  _ had  _ to have gone nuts. No way was someone as stunning as the man in front of him interested in someone like Changmin, who fell asleep in a bag of popcorn watching Ghost Adventures one weekend. He smiled softly, not wanting to give away his nerves. It was not the time to gay panic, but old habits die hard, and his voice shook as he replied, “Yeah, I’m Changmin. You must be Juyeon.” Changmin mentally facepalmed.  _ He literally just said his name.  _

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.” Juyeon gave a small nervous smile and Changmin internally cooed. It made him feel a little bit better that he was just as nervous as he was. Juyeon sat down next to him, having a hard time getting his long legs under the bar table. Kevin wasn’t kidding about being him being clumsy - he seemed incredibly off balanced with chest to arm and leg ratio. It suited him, fitting in like a puzzle piece to the features in his face such as his nose and jawline. Changmin shook his head a little, not wanting to get caught staring.

“Did you want a drink or anything?” Juyeon said, not noticing Changmin’s water. Changmin smiled and shook his head, shaking the cup.

“No, I’m good. I’d rather not get drunk on the first date. According the Chanhee and Younghoon, I get really weepy and nostalgic.” Juyeon laughed, his eyes crinkling up into crescents.

“I’ll have to see it sometime then,” Juyeon replied, making Changmin’s ears become red. For someone who quite frequently said men aren’t shit, he sure was falling for this guy he barely knew quite quickly. 

As Changmin’s water cup started sweating with condensation from the contrast of the temperature of the bar and his ice slowly deteriorating, they both talked about themselves. They started with basic things, like where they were from, their hobbies and interests (which they actually had a lot in common) and surface information. Changmin was comfortable in this wading pool conversation and had no desire to go deeper, but Juyeon had other plans.

“Do you know what you want to do after college?” Juyeon asked, when there were considerably fewer people in the bar then there were a couple of hours ago. “Like, career wise, life wise, et cetera?” Changmin stiffened, his fingers drawing pictures with the condensation left on the table.

“I’m not too sure, honestly,” Changmin said slowly, as if he were reading the words in his head before he spoke them. “I kind of live one day at a time now. Take things slow. It was like a slingshot when I was a kid. A lot of things sort of happened at once and I could feel myself spiralling out of control, so I try to pace myself and try not to worry too much.” Juyeon nodded, seeming to understand what Changmin meant. 

“I understand that. At this age, everything is kind of a whirlwind of getting your life back on track.” He took a sip of his drink. “I want to eventually start a family. Obviously not right out of school, but some time after that. I want to settle down with the love of my life, maybe adopt a kid or two, and try to live out the rest of my days happily and to the fullest.” Juyeon chuckled a little. “It sounds kind of cheesy, but that’s what I want.”

“Kind of sounds like a romance drama,” Changmin teased lightly, succeeding in being able to talk about dramas without wanting to throw up a little in his mouth. 

Much to Changmin’s surprise, Juyeon shook his head with a soft smile. “Oh god no. I’d rather die than have my life be some grade school romance drama.” Changmin cocked his head, confused. In his defense, he’s never met someone who  _ didn’t  _ want their life to be right out of dramas. Even Chanhee, age 11, had a book where he wrote who, what, when, where, why and how of him and his perfect man meeting. Even Jacob, one of the most sensible out of the four of them talked about true love with stars in his eyes. Why wasn’t Juyeon the same?

“Why not?” Changmin decided to ask, resting his chin in his hands. “I thought it was just every young adult’s dream to have a happy ending.” Juyeon shrugged, drinking the last of his soda. 

“That sounds extremely boring,” he replied, placing the glass down. Changmin couldn’t help but notice how his hand swallowed the cup. “Then on the other had, so much well,  _ drama _ and things like that makes it too tiring. Real life isn’t like that at all.” He rested his hand on the table and Changmin had to resist the urge to hold it, telling him through some weird communication that he  _ understood.  _ “I don’t want my life to be scripted. I want to just improvise as I go along. Make some mistakes here, be ultimately successful another time.” He chuckled to himself, making Changmin’s heart do some crazy flips. 

“That sounds amazing,” Changmin piped up, causing Juyeon to look up at him with wide eyes. “I’ve kind of been the same way, but a bit more closed off and negative. 

“My dad left when I was a kid,” Changmin said, slowly feeling his heart being unstitched by each syllable. “My mom used to watch dramas all the time. I would watch with her, and at that age, I loved them. I kind of got a smack to the face literally and metaphorically when I asked her where her Prince Charming was. So since then, I’ve had a sort of spite for dramas.”

That was the first time he really told someone about that. Even Chanhee only knew bits and pieces. There was something about Juyeon though that made him want to shatter open his own defenses and hold the broken shards up to him to take care of. Maybe his friend was right.

Instead of holding up shards, Changmin placed his hand over Juyeon’s, crying a little at how  _ tiny  _ his hand looked. “You’re not alone in that at all.”

Juyeon’s answering smile made the low bar lights seem a little brighter. 

  
  


“How was the date?” Chanhee asked on the phone the morning after. Changmin was silent for a moment, reading the text Juyeon sent him. 

_ Juyeon: We should watch this one first. Seems like a fucking rollercoaster of a time. _

“It went really well,” he said with a shy smile, replying back to Juyeon ( _ Bet!!!!! _ ). “He’s actually coming over later today.” Chanhee’s gasp made Changmin laugh a little. 

“No shit! What are you going to do? Do you have protection?” Changmin choked, coughing a little. 

“What the fuck Chanhee, he’s not coming over to have sex!” He whined, kicking his feet on his bed like a small child. “I don’t fuck on any single digit dates, you know that.” 

“I actually don’t as you haven’t gotten past a solid 3,” Chanhee said in a deadpan voice. “If not that, what are you doing?”

“Watching some dramas he recommended,” Changmin said, which made Chanhee cough this time. 

“I thought you despised dramas,” Chanhee said, confused. Changmin let out a small  _ hmm,  _ getting up to answer the door. 

“I do. I just found someone to hate them with me now.” 

When Changmin was younger, he could probably name every single drama his mother watched in the course of two months. 

Now he absolutely can name each drama, and tell exactly why they were all bullshit in half the amount of time. 

**Author's Note:**

> i was not expecting this to be as dialogue heavy as it was but whatever. it is what it is
> 
> stream ddd and follow me on twitter: @chngmic all I do is cry about changmin


End file.
